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Maestripieri D, Georgiev AV. What cortisol can tell us about the costs of sociality and reproduction among free-ranging rhesus macaque females on Cayo Santiago. Am J Primatol 2016; 78:92-105. [PMID: 25643836 PMCID: PMC4627861 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Revised: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 11/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Research with the rhesus macaque population on Cayo Santiago can provide a unique perspective on the costs of sociality and reproduction in primates. Because the Cayo macaques live in unusually large groups and in a predator-free environment, in which their artificial food source lacks seasonal variation in abundance or quality, these monkeys constitute a semi-experimental study of the costs and benefits of group living. Here we review several long- and short-term studies that have focused on female life history and stress physiology. Long-term demographic data have shown that rhesus macaque females of middle- and low-ranking matrilines have lower adult survival probabilities than females of high-ranking matrilines. Costs of reproductive effort are also evident: adult females were more likely to die during the birth than during the mating season and they experienced higher cortisol levels when lactating. Lower-ranking females, in particular, experienced greater relative increase in cortisol production during lactation, in comparison to middle- and high-ranking females. Older high-ranking females had lower plasma cortisol levels than younger ones but cortisol levels were similarly high among young and old middle- and low-ranking females. Higher plasma cortisol levels and/or fecal glucocorticoid concentrations are associated with higher plasma concentrations of some proinflammatory cytokines. High cortisol, in turn, may be associated with chronic inflammation, and perhaps also with immunosuppression. In sum, the studies reviewed here provide multiple lines of evidence that sociality and reproductive effort impose measurable costs on female rhesus macaques. In line with socio-ecological theory, female dominance rank consistently emerges as an important modulator of variation in female life histories and physiology. The Cayo Santiago macaques are therefore a valuable model for elucidating the mechanisms by which within-group competition and reproduction impact health and survival in nonhuman primates and in humans.
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Lehmann J, Majolo B, McFarland R. The effects of social network position on the survival of wild Barbary macaques,Macaca sylvanus. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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53
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Feczko E, Mitchell TAJ, Walum H, Brooks JM, Heitz TR, Young LJ, Parr LA. Establishing the reliability of rhesus macaque social network assessment from video observations. Anim Behav 2015; 107:115-123. [PMID: 26392632 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the properties of a social environment is important for understanding the dynamics of social relationships. Understanding such dynamics is relevant for multiple fields, ranging from animal behaviour to social and cognitive neuroscience. To quantify social environment properties, recent studies have incorporated social network analysis. Social network analysis quantifies both the global and local properties of a social environment, such as social network efficiency and the roles played by specific individuals, respectively. Despite the plethora of studies incorporating social network analysis, methods to determine the amount of data necessary to derive reliable social networks are still being developed. Determining the amount of data necessary for a reliable network is critical for measuring changes in the social environment, for example following an experimental manipulation, and therefore may be critical for using social network analysis to statistically assess social behaviour. In this paper, we extend methods for measuring error in acquired data and for determining the amount of data necessary to generate reliable social networks. We derived social networks from a group of 10 male rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, for three behaviours: spatial proximity, grooming and mounting. Behaviours were coded using a video observation technique, where video cameras recorded the compound where the 10 macaques resided. We collected, coded and used 10 h of video data to construct these networks. Using the methods described here, we found in our data that 1 h of spatial proximity observations produced reliable social networks. However, this may not be true for other studies due to differences in data acquisition. Our results have broad implications for measuring and predicting the amount of error in any social network, regardless of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Feczko
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Yerkes Primate National Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
| | - Thomas A J Mitchell
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Yerkes Primate National Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
| | - Hasse Walum
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Yerkes Primate National Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
| | - Jenna M Brooks
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Yerkes Primate National Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
| | - Thomas R Heitz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Yerkes Primate National Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
| | - Larry J Young
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Yerkes Primate National Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
| | - Lisa A Parr
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Yerkes Primate National Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A. ; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A
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54
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Santos AJ, Daniel JR, Fernandes C, Vaughn BE. Affiliative Subgroups in Preschool Classrooms: Integrating Constructs and Methods from Social Ethology and Sociometric Traditions. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0130932. [PMID: 26134139 PMCID: PMC4489863 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2015] [Accepted: 05/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies of school-age children and adolescents have used social network analyses to characterize selection and socialization aspects of peer groups. Fewer network studies have been reported for preschool classrooms and many of those have focused on structural descriptions of peer networks, and/or, on selection processes rather than on social functions of subgroup membership. In this study we started by identifying and describing different types of affiliative subgroups (HMP- high mutual proximity, LMP- low mutual proximity, and ungrouped children) in a sample of 240 Portuguese preschool children using nearest neighbor observations. Next, we used additional behavioral observations and sociometric data to show that HMP and LMP subgroups are functionally distinct: HMP subgroups appear to reflect friendship relations, whereas LMP subgroups appear to reflect common social goals, but without strong, within-subgroup dyadic ties. Finally, we examined the longitudinal implications of subgroup membership and show that children classified as HMP in consecutive years had more reciprocated friendships than did children whose subgroup classification changed from LMP or ungrouped to HMP. These results extend previous findings reported for North American peer groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- António J. Santos
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - João R. Daniel
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Carla Fernandes
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
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55
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Silk MJ, Jackson AL, Croft DP, Colhoun K, Bearhop S. The consequences of unidentifiable individuals for the analysis of an animal social network. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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56
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Abstract
Friend of a friend relationships, or the indirect connections between people, influence our health, well-being, financial success and reproductive output. As with humans, social behaviours in other animals often occur within a broad interconnected network of social ties. Yet studies of animal social behaviour tend to focus on associations between pairs of individuals. With the increase in popularity of social network analysis, researchers have started to look beyond the dyad to examine the role of indirect connections in animal societies. Here, I provide an overview of the new knowledge that has been uncovered by these studies. I focus on research that has addressed both the causes of social behaviours, i.e. the cognitive and genetic basis of indirect connections, as well as their consequences, i.e. the impact of indirect connections on social cohesion, information transfer, cultural practices and fitness. From these studies, it is apparent that indirect connections play an important role in animal behaviour, although future research is needed to clarify their contribution.
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57
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Sonnweber RS, Ravignani A, Stobbe N, Schiestl G, Wallner B, Fitch WT. Rank-dependent grooming patterns and cortisol alleviation in Barbary macaques. Am J Primatol 2015; 77:688-700. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2014] [Revised: 01/27/2015] [Accepted: 02/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ruth S. Sonnweber
- Department of Cognitive Biology; University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14; Vienna Austria
- Department of Behavioural Biology; University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14; Vienna Austria
| | - Andrea Ravignani
- Department of Cognitive Biology; University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14; Vienna Austria
- Language Evolution & Computation Research Unit; School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences; University of Edinburgh 3; Edinburgh United Kingdom
| | - Nina Stobbe
- Department of Cognitive Biology; University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14; Vienna Austria
| | - Gisela Schiestl
- Department of Behavioural Biology; University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14; Vienna Austria
| | - Bernard Wallner
- Department of Behavioural Biology; University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14; Vienna Austria
- Department of Anthropology; University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14; Vienna Austria
| | - W. Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology; University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14; Vienna Austria
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58
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Berman CM. Primate Kinship: Contributions from Cayo Santiago. Am J Primatol 2015; 78:63-77. [PMID: 25704962 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2014] [Revised: 12/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Research on Cayo Santiago and Japan deserves credit for launching the study of primate kinship and for continuing to help shape it in important ways. This review describes the origins of kinship research on Cayo Santiago, beginning with Donald Sade's pioneering work establishing the concepts of kin preferences, matrilineal dominance systems and incest avoidance. It then reviews subsequent research by later Cayo Santiago researchers and alumni, focusing primarily on maternal kinship. Together these researchers have greatly expanded our knowledge of kin preferences in rhesus in terms of (i) what age-sex classes, behaviors and types of kin show them, (ii) the ways in which kinship interfaces with rank, sex, age, and dispersal patterns, and (iii) the graded and variably limited nature of kin preferences in terms of degree of relatedness. Second, the argument for kin selection at least for some types of behavior has survived challenges posed by several alternative explanations, and has been both strengthened by recent findings of paternal kin preferences and narrowed by studies showing that unilateral altruism may extend only to very close kin. Third, work on Cayo Santiago has contributed to an appreciation that both current conditions and inherent social characteristics may influence the strength of kin preferences, and fourth, it has contributed to an understanding of the possible origins of our own species' family systems. Cayo Santiago became a leader in kinship research in large part because of management practices that produce known extended lineages. These lineages have promoted and accelerated research on kinship, prompting other researchers to investigate its importance in other groups and species, where its effects only then became clear. The extended lineages remain valuable tools for research on a species that lives in a broad range of environments in the wild, including those with key parallels to Cayo Santiago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol M Berman
- Department of Anthropology and Graduate Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
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59
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McFarland R, Fuller A, Hetem RS, Mitchell D, Maloney SK, Henzi SP, Barrett L. Social integration confers thermal benefits in a gregarious primate. J Anim Ecol 2015; 84:871-878. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 12/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard McFarland
- Brain Function Research Group; School of Physiology; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
- Department of Anthropology; University of Wisconsin-Madison; 1180 Observatory Drive Madison WI 53706 USA
| | - Andrea Fuller
- Brain Function Research Group; School of Physiology; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Robyn S. Hetem
- Brain Function Research Group; School of Physiology; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Duncan Mitchell
- Brain Function Research Group; School of Physiology; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
- School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology; University of Western Australia; Perth WA Australia
| | - Shane K. Maloney
- Brain Function Research Group; School of Physiology; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
- School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology; University of Western Australia; Perth WA Australia
| | - S. Peter Henzi
- Department of Psychology; University of Lethbridge; Lethbridge AB Canada
- Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystems Research Unit; University of South Africa; Pretoria South Africa
| | - Louise Barrett
- Brain Function Research Group; School of Physiology; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
- Department of Psychology; University of Lethbridge; Lethbridge AB Canada
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60
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Kornienko O, Clemans KH, Out D, Granger DA. Hormones, behavior, and social network analysis: exploring associations between cortisol, testosterone, and network structure. Horm Behav 2014; 66:534-44. [PMID: 25072982 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2014] [Revised: 07/18/2014] [Accepted: 07/19/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
We used a new interdisciplinary paradigm of social network analysis (SNA) to investigate associations between hormones and social network structures. We examine these biobehavioral processes and test hypotheses about how hormones are associated with social network structures using exponential random graph modeling (ERGM) in a cohort of first-year students (n=74; 93% female; M age=27 years) from a highly competitive, accelerated nursing program. Participants completed friendship nominations and as a group simultaneously donated saliva (later assayed for cortisol and testosterone). ERGM analyses revealed that salivary cortisol levels were inversely associated with the number of outgoing ties (i.e., network activity). By contrast, testosterone was not related to friendship network structure. Integration of SNA and salivary bioscience creates a novel approach to understanding hormone-behavior relationships within the context of human social ecologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Kornienko
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research, Arizona State University, USA; Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, USA.
| | | | - Dorothée Out
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Douglas A Granger
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research, Arizona State University, USA; Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, USA; School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, USA; Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA.
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61
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Abstract
Behavioral ecologists have devoted considerable effort to identifying the sources of variation in individual reproductive success. Much of this work has focused on the characteristics of individuals, such as their sex and rank. However, many animals live in stable social groups and the fitness of individuals depends at least in part on the outcome of their interactions with other group members. For example, in many primate species, high dominance rank enhances access to resources and reproductive success. The ability to acquire and maintain high rank often depends on the availability and effectiveness of coalitionary support. Allies may be cultivated and coalitions may be reinforced by affiliative interactions such as grooming, food sharing, and tolerance. These findings suggest that if we want to understand the selective pressures that shape the social behavior of primates, it will be profitable to broaden our focus from the characteristics of individuals to the properties of the relationships that they form with others. The goal of this paper is to discuss a set of methods that can be used to quantify the properties of social relationships.
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62
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Abstract
Friendship pervades the human social landscape. These bonds are so important that disrupting them leads to health problems, and difficulties forming or maintaining friendships attend neuropsychiatric disorders like autism and depression. Other animals also have friends, suggesting that friendship is not solely a human invention but is instead an evolved trait. A neuroethological approach applies behavioral, neurobiological, and molecular techniques to explain friendship with reference to its underlying mechanisms, development, evolutionary origins, and biological function. Recent studies implicate a shared suite of neural circuits and neuromodulatory pathways in the formation, maintenance, and manipulation of friendships across humans and other animals. Health consequences and reproductive advantages in mammals additionally suggest that friendship has adaptive benefits. We argue that understanding the neuroethology of friendship in humans and other animals brings us closer to knowing fully what it means to be human.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J N Brent
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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63
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Kinship and Dominance Rank Influence the Strength of Social Bonds in Female Geladas (Theropithecus gelada). INT J PRIMATOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-013-9733-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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64
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Rakhovskaya MV. Correlates of Male Consortship Rate in Free-Ranging Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta). INT J PRIMATOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-013-9686-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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65
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Brent LJN, Heilbronner SR, Horvath JE, Gonzalez-Martinez J, Ruiz-Lambides A, Robinson AG, Skene JHP, Platt ML. Genetic origins of social networks in rhesus macaques. Sci Rep 2013; 3:1042. [PMID: 23304433 PMCID: PMC3540398 DOI: 10.1038/srep01042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2012] [Accepted: 12/06/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Sociality is believed to have evolved as a strategy for animals to cope with their environments. Yet the genetic basis of sociality remains unclear. Here we provide evidence that social network tendencies are heritable in a gregarious primate. The tendency for rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, to be tied affiliatively to others via connections mediated by their social partners - analogous to friends of friends in people - demonstrated additive genetic variance. Affiliative tendencies were predicted by genetic variation at two loci involved in serotonergic signalling, although this result did not withstand correction for multiple tests. Aggressive tendencies were also heritable and were related to reproductive output, a fitness proxy. Our findings suggest that, like humans, the skills and temperaments that shape the formation of multi-agent relationships have a genetic basis in nonhuman primates, and, as such, begin to fill the gaps in our understanding of the genetic basis of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J N Brent
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
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66
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Gustison ML, MacLarnon A, Wiper S, Semple S. An experimental study of behavioural coping strategies in free-ranging female Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). Stress 2012; 15:608-17. [PMID: 22356252 DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2012.668589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A fundamental goal of stress research is to understand how individuals cope with challenges. Studies on a range of vertebrate species suggest that three groups of behaviour--affiliative, aggressive and self-directed behaviours--serve as coping strategies. To date, experimental studies of coping behaviour have tended to be conducted in captive conditions; the limited number of studies in free-ranging or wild settings have been observational in nature. We investigated coping behaviours in free-ranging female Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) at Trentham Monkey Forest, UK, using an experimental playback approach to quantify subjects' responses to mildly aversive threat-grunts. Compared to silent control trials, playbacks of threat-grunts increased aggressive behaviours and one of the two self-directed behaviours examined (self-scratching). No such differences were seen for self-grooming, or for any affiliative behaviour. Elevations in the rate of one measure of aggression, lunging, were positively related to an average measure of adrenocortical activity (median faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels over the study period). Evidence from females in a variety of Old World monkey species, including Barbary macaques, indicates that affiliative behaviours have an important role in coping with stressful events in the medium to longer term. Our results suggest that, in the short term, female Barbary macaques may use aggressive rather than affiliative behaviours in response to mild stress. These findings highlight the importance of considering how coping mechanisms may vary over time after a stressor, and how coping mechanisms relate to adrenocortical activity. Playback approaches like ours provide a powerful, flexible tool to explore issues such as this in free-ranging and wild animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan L Gustison
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Environmental Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, UK.
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67
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Stanton MA, Mann J. Early social networks predict survival in wild bottlenose dolphins. PLoS One 2012; 7:e47508. [PMID: 23077627 PMCID: PMC3471847 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2012] [Accepted: 09/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A fundamental question concerning group-living species is what factors influence the evolution of sociality. Although several studies link adult social bonds to fitness, social patterns and relationships are often formed early in life and are also likely to have fitness consequences, particularly in species with lengthy developmental periods, extensive social learning, and early social bond-formation. In a longitudinal study of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.), calf social network structure, specifically the metric eigenvector centrality, predicted juvenile survival in males. Additionally, male calves that died post-weaning had stronger ties to juvenile males than surviving male calves, suggesting that juvenile males impose fitness costs on their younger counterparts. Our study indicates that selection is acting on social traits early in life and highlights the need to examine the costs and benefits of social bonds during formative life history stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret A Stanton
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States of America.
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68
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Polizzi di Sorrentino E, Schino G, Tiddi B, Aureli F. Scratching as a Window into the Emotional Responses of Wild Tufted Capuchin Monkeys. Ethology 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Gabriele Schino
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, C.N.R; Roma; Italy
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69
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Michopoulos V, Reding KM, Wilson ME, Toufexis D. Social subordination impairs hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function in female rhesus monkeys. Horm Behav 2012; 62:389-99. [PMID: 22940527 PMCID: PMC3477274 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2011] [Revised: 07/03/2012] [Accepted: 07/09/2012] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Linear dominance hierarchies organize and maintain stability in female rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) social groups regardless of group size. As a consequence of their low social status, subordinate females suffer from an array of adverse outcomes including reproductive compromise, impaired immune function, and poor cardiovascular health. However, data that differentiate limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (LHPA) parameters between dominant from subordinate female monkeys are inconsistent, bringing into question whether social subordination alters the LHPA axis in female macaques. One difficulty in examining LHPA function in macaques may be the confounding effects of cycling ovarian steroids that are known to modulate LHPA activity. The current study used ovariectomized dominant and subordinate female rhesus monkeys to examine the effect that social subordination has on LHPA function by measuring morning and diurnal serum cortisol levels, dexamethasone (Dex) suppression of cortisol, metabolic clearance of Dex, and ACTH stimulation of adrenal cortisol release and cortisol response following exposure to acute social isolation. Compared to dominant females, subordinate females showed diminished morning peak cortisol secretion, weakened glucocorticoid negative feedback, and decreased adrenal cortisol response to an ACTH challenge as well as a restrained cortisol response following social isolation. However, the metabolism of Dex did not account for differences in Dex suppression between dominant and subordinate females. These results indicate that the ability to mount and limit glucocorticoid release is significantly reduced by psychosocial stress in female rhesus macaques, suggesting a hyporesponsive LHPA phenotype which resembles that observed in several human psychopathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasiliki Michopoulos
- Division of Developmental & Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta GA 30329, USA.
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70
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Dubuc C, Hughes KD, Cascio J, Santos LR. Social tolerance in a despotic primate: co-feeding between consortship partners in rhesus macaques. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012; 148:73-80. [PMID: 22415860 PMCID: PMC4167600 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2011] [Revised: 01/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Food sharing among nonkin-one of the most fascinating cooperative behaviors in humans-is not widespread in nonhuman primates. Over the past few years, a large body of work has investigated the contexts in which primates cooperate and share food with unrelated individuals. This work has successfully demonstrated that species-specific differences in temperament constrain the extent to which food sharing emerges in experimental situations, with despotic species being less likely to share food than tolerant ones. However, little experimental work has examined the contexts that promote food sharing and cooperation within a species. Here, we examine whether one salient reproductive context-the consortship dyad-can allow the necessary social tolerance for co-feeding to emerge in an extremely despotic species, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). We gave naturally formed male-female rhesus macaque pairs access to a monopolizable food site in the free-ranging population at Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. Using this method, we were able to show that tolerated co-feeding between unrelated adults can take place in this despotic species. Specifically, our results show that consort pairs co-fed at the experimental food site more than nonconsort control pairs, leading females to obtain more food in this context. These results suggest that co-feeding is possible even in the most despotic of primate species, but perhaps only in contexts that specifically promote the necessary social tolerance. Researchers might profit from exploring whether other kinds of within-species contexts could also generate cooperative behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constance Dubuc
- Département d'Anthropologie, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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71
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Weinstein TAR, Capitanio JP. Longitudinal stability of friendships in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta): individual- and relationship-level effects. J Comp Psychol 2012; 126:97-108. [PMID: 22352887 PMCID: PMC3592481 DOI: 10.1037/a0025607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The longevity of children's friendships is influenced by a multitude of individual- and relationship-level attributes, but little is known about the factors that impact friendship maintenance in nonhuman primate juveniles. We investigated whether the following predicted the longitudinal stability of friendships in juvenile rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta): (1) individual characteristics including sex, dominance rank, matriline size, and temperament; and (2) relationship characteristics including kinship, reciprocity, complexity, and similarity between friends in sex, rank, and temperament. We recorded affiliative interactions of 29 two-year-old rhesus monkeys, previously observed as yearlings, at the California National Primate Research Center. Friends were defined as peers with whom subjects spent more time affiliating than expected by chance. Temperament had been assessed at 3-4 months of age. Sex was the only individual characteristic predicting friendship stability: males maintained more friendships from age one to two than did females. Relationship characteristics predicting friendship stability included similarity between individuals in temperament, kinship, and sex. In addition, reciprocated friendships, rather than unidirectional friendships, were significantly more likely to persist over time. Our findings suggest that the factors influencing friendship maintenance in rhesus monkeys are similar to those impacting human friendship longevity.
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72
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Brent LJN, Lehmann J, Ramos-Fernández G. Social network analysis in the study of nonhuman primates: a historical perspective. Am J Primatol 2011; 73:720-30. [PMID: 21433047 PMCID: PMC3121897 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2010] [Revised: 02/12/2011] [Accepted: 02/26/2011] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Advances over the last 15 years have made social network analysis (SNA) a powerful tool for the study of nonhuman primate social behavior. Although many SNA-based techniques have been only very recently adopted in primatological research, others have been commonly used by primatologists for decades. The roots of SNA also stem from some of the same conceptual frameworks as the majority of nonhuman primate behavioral research. The rapid development of SNA in recent years has led to questions within the primatological community of where and how SNA fits within this field. We aim to address these questions by providing an overview of the historical relationship between SNA and the study of nonhuman primates. We begin with a brief history of the development of SNA, followed by a detailed description of the network-based visualization techniques, analytical methods and conceptual frameworks which have been employed by primatologists since as early as the 1960s. We also introduce some of the latest advances to SNA, thereby demonstrating that this approach contains novel tools for the study of nonhuman primate social behavior which may be used to shed light on questions that cannot be addressed fully using more conventional methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J N Brent
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
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73
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Abstract
Convergent evidence from many species reveals the evolutionary origins of human friendship. In horses, elephants, hyenas, dolphins, monkeys, and chimpanzees, some individuals form friendships that last for years. Bonds occur among females, among males, or between males and females. Genetic relatedness affects friendships. In species where males disperse, friendships are more likely among females. If females disperse, friendships are more likely among males. Not all friendships, however, depend on kinship; many are formed between unrelated individuals. Friendships often involve cooperative interactions that are separated in time. They depend, at least in part, on the memory and emotions associated with past interactions. Applying the term "friendship" to animals is not anthropomorphic: Many studies have shown that the animals themselves recognize others' relationships. Friendships are adaptive. Male allies have superior competitive ability and improved reproductive success; females with the strongest, most enduring friendships experience less stress, higher infant survival, and live longer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Seyfarth
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, USA.
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74
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Sterling P. Allostasis: a model of predictive regulation. Physiol Behav 2011; 106:5-15. [PMID: 21684297 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 434] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2011] [Revised: 05/31/2011] [Accepted: 06/02/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The premise of the standard regulatory model, "homeostasis", is flawed: the goal of regulation is not to preserve constancy of the internal milieu. Rather, it is to continually adjust the milieu to promote survival and reproduction. Regulatory mechanisms need to be efficient, but homeostasis (error-correction by feedback) is inherently inefficient. Thus, although feedbacks are certainly ubiquitous, they could not possibly serve as the primary regulatory mechanism. A newer model, "allostasis", proposes that efficient regulation requires anticipating needs and preparing to satisfy them before they arise. The advantages: (i) errors are reduced in magnitude and frequency; (ii) response capacities of different components are matched -- to prevent bottlenecks and reduce safety factors; (iii) resources are shared between systems to minimize reserve capacities; (iv) errors are remembered and used to reduce future errors. This regulatory strategy requires a dedicated organ, the brain. The brain tracks multitudinous variables and integrates their values with prior knowledge to predict needs and set priorities. The brain coordinates effectors to mobilize resources from modest bodily stores and enforces a system of flexible trade-offs: from each organ according to its ability, to each organ according to its need. The brain also helps regulate the internal milieu by governing anticipatory behavior. Thus, an animal conserves energy by moving to a warmer place - before it cools, and it conserves salt and water by moving to a cooler one before it sweats. The behavioral strategy requires continuously updating a set of specific "shopping lists" that document the growing need for each key component (warmth, food, salt, water). These appetites funnel into a common pathway that employs a "stick" to drive the organism toward filling the need, plus a "carrot" to relax the organism when the need is satisfied. The stick corresponds broadly to the sense of anxiety, and the carrot broadly to the sense of pleasure. This design constrains anxieties to be non-adapting and pleasures to be brief -- fast-adapting -- to make way for the next anxiety. The stick/carrot mechanisms evolved early and expanded so that in humans they govern higher level learning and social organization. Correspondingly, the "funnel" widened to allow innumerable activities and experiences to each provide non-adapting anxieties and brief pleasures, their reward values depending partly on the effort expended. But modern life narrows the variety of small pleasures and reduces effort, thereby reducing their reward value and requiring larger portions for equivalent satisfaction - a cycle that generates addictive behaviors. Homeostasis and allostasis locate pathology at different levels. Homeostasis identifies proximate causes; for example, it attributes essential hypertension to excess salt water in too small a vascular reservoir. Thus it directs pharmacotherapy toward reducing salt and water, expanding the reservoir, and blocking feedbacks that would counteract these measures. Allostasis attributes essential hypertension to the brain. Chronically anticipating a need for higher pressure, the brain mobilizes all the low level mechanisms in concert: kidney to retain salt and water, vascular system to tighten, and salt appetite to rise. Correspondingly, allostasis would direct therapy toward higher levels - to reduce demand and increase sense of control -- so that the brain can down-shift its prediction and relax all the low-level mechanisms in concert. For disorders of addiction homeostasis pursues pharmacological treatments: drugs to treat drug addiction, obesity, and other compulsive behaviors. Allostasis suggests broader approaches - such as re-expanding the range of possible pleasures and providing opportunities to expend effort in their pursuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Sterling
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA 19104, United States.
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Testing the priority-of-access model in a seasonally breeding primate species. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011; 65:1615-1627. [PMID: 21874084 PMCID: PMC3134767 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1172-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2011] [Revised: 02/11/2011] [Accepted: 02/23/2011] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In mammals, when females are clumped in space, male access to receptive females is usually determined by a dominance hierarchy based on fighting ability. In polygynandrous primates, as opposed to most mammalian species, the strength of the relationship between male social status and reproductive success varies greatly. It has been proposed that the degree to which paternity is determined by male rank decreases with increasing female reproductive synchrony. The priority-of-access model (PoA) predicts male reproductive success based on female synchrony and male dominance rank. To date, most tests of the PoA using paternity data involved nonseasonally breeding species. Here, we examine whether the PoA explains the relatively low reproductive skew in relation to dominance rank reported in the rhesus macaque, a strictly seasonal species. We collected behavioral, genetic, and hormonal data on one group of the free-ranging population on Cayo Santiago (Puerto Rico) for 2 years. The PoA correctly predicted the steepness of male reproductive skew, but not its relationship to male dominance: the most successful sire, fathering one third of the infants, was high but not top ranking. In contrast, mating success was not significantly skewed, suggesting that other mechanisms than social status contributed to male reproductive success. Dominance may be less important for paternity in rhesus macaques than in other primate species because it is reached through queuing rather than contest, leading to alpha males not necessarily being the strongest or most attractive male. More work is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms determining paternity in rhesus macaques.
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